“Research shows that the best problem solvers are the best problem finders.”—Michele DeStefano

This week, Sam talks with Michele DeStefano, law professor and founder of LawWithoutWalls, about how to be a creative problem solver.

Ransomware is Everywhere

Sam wanted to talk about a little-discussed but widespread problem: ransomware. Ransomware is when you open an attachment or click a link, and malicious software automatically encrypts your hard drive, and you can’t access it. To get your data back, you have to pay a ransom via bitcoin.

Aaron wondered about how widespread the problem was. Sam indicated that enough ransomware emails are sent out that it is likely that everyone has ransomware emails in their spam. Some law firms have been hit multiple times. However, there are some simple fixes: don’t click on strange attachments and links, and have a good external off-site backup of your hard drive. That way, if your hard drive gets encrypted, it doesn’t matter. You just wipe it and restore it from the backup.

Learning Creative Problem-Solving Skills, with Michele DeStefano

Michele DeStefano is a professor at the University of Miami School of Law and the founder and director of LawWithoutWalls, a part-virtual collaboratory that brings together students, faculty, practitioners, academics, entrepreneurs, business and law students, and venture capitalists from around the world to innovate legal education and practice.

She regularly presents on innovation, compliance, and technology. She is Guest Faculty in Harvard Law School’s Executive Education program and Affiliated Faculty at Harvard Law School’s Center for the Legal Profession. In 2013, she was recognized by the ABA as one of ten Legal Rebels.